The New York Yankees chose to start Jose Caballero at third base Tuesday night in their most important game of the season (to date) against the Houston Astros because they needed as many spark plugs as they could get. Unfortunately, Caballero’s ignitable nature got him in trouble with over half a game to go.
With a runner on first base and two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, home plate umpire Ramon De Jesus ruled that Caballero went too far on an attempted check swing after a pitch dove in and drilled him in the foot. That wasn’t the egregious part of the interaction.
After a bit of jawing over the decision, De Jesus inexplicably ran Caballero from the game, unable to handle some light banter.
Show of hands: Do you think an ejection like this would ever happen to the home team in the fourth inning? Or would the home plate umpire maybe have the fortitude to let it slide?
Jose Caballero was tossed from the game because he didn’t like the call after he got hit by a pitch but went around with his swing pic.twitter.com/5WKNdEgaXQ
https://twitter.com/TalkinYanks/status/1963047943964868631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Yankees’ Jose Caballero victim of second ejection in as many weeks
The last time Caballero lost his temper, the Yankees almost ended up in dire straits. Following a call on the basepaths that he disagreed with in Tampa, Caballero found himself ejected in the 10th inning of a 6-3 ballgame, forcing Giancarlo Stanton into right field on what had previously been a scheduled off day. Stanton stayed limber and the Yankees narrowly held on to victory, but Aaron Boone kept Stanton out of Friday night’s game against the Red Sox two days later; Boston won that one 1-0.
Was the second decision a direct result of the first? You’ll have to ask the manager, but the optics weren’t fantastic, especially with the game in the balance.
Caballero’s reputation as a bit of a hot head may precede him unfairly; this was a nothingburger, and the Yankees got robbed of an important position player for the remainder of a pretty important ballgame. Ryan McMahon, held out against the left-hander Framber Valdez, will now enter as a “defensive replacement” for the duration of this contest.
The Yankees clearly trust Caballero in a playoff atmosphere on the field. But, fair or not, this cannot happen again.
